Integral AO-05 Proposal Generation Tool (PGT)

System requirements
Installing PGT
PGT documentation
Installation FAQ

The current version of PGT is 5.5 (updated April 16th to fix a minor bug in printing coordinates).

Proposals that were generated with a previous version of PGT (during AO-1, AO-2 or AO-3) shouldn't be opened with this new version of PGT. Please contact the ISOC helpdesk at inthelp@sciops.esa.int if you want to open one of your old proposals. ISOC helpdesk email: inthelp@sciops.esa.int

System requirements

PGT has been installed and tested on the following operating systems:

You must have at least JRE (Java™ Runtime Environment) version 1.4 or later to install and run the PGT software. You can download the latest version of the JRE here:

Windows, Linux or Solaris: http://java.sun.com/j2se/downloads.html

Compaq Tru64 UNIX (formerly DIGITAL UNIX), HP-UX: http://h18012.www1.hp.com/java/

Apple Mac OS: Mac OS X comes with J2SE v1.4.2 pre-installed, see http://www.apple.com/java for more information. There is no JRE v1.3.1+ for Mac OS 9 or earlier.

Other OS: Try visiting the Web Site of the producers of your operating system and searching for "java" - this usually does the trick.

Installing PGT

There are two ways to install PGT:

Manual installation (recommended)

Automatic installation
(only if you have Java™ Web Start installed)

Step 1: Download (Save as...) PGT-install.jar (4 MB).

Step 2: Start the installer.
If you are using Windows:
Open the PGT-install.jar file by double-clicking on it.
For other operating systems:
Start the installer from the command line: java -jar PGT-install.jar (you must be in the same directory as the PGT-install.jar file).

See the FAQ if you experience problems.

Launch the PGT installer with Java™ Web Start using the following link:

Install PGT using Java™ Web Start

More information about Java™ Web Start can be found here.

PGT documentation

The PGT Software User Manual can be downloaded here. You should also consult the Help function in the PGT application.

Installation FAQ

More FAQ about using PGT can be found here.

Q: The installer tells me that the installation directory could not be created. How can I solve this?
A: You must have the correct access rights in order to create the installation directory. Example: if you want to install PGT in /home/johndoe/ISOC-PGT you must have write-access for /home/johndoe
Q: The installer of PGT fails with an obscure error message and I'm running Fedora Core 3 or 4 (Red Hat Linux) in combination with Java 1.4.2.
A: Please install the latest Java version from the Sun web-site.
Q: I have installed the PGT software. Now how do I run it?
A: If you're using Windows, the PGT installation software will by default create a shortcut on your Windows desktop and in the Start menu, that you can use to start PGT. For other operating systems (but for Windows as well), you can run the PGT by using the PGT start-up script which can be found in your PGT installation directory. You have selected the PGT installation directory during the installation process.

Windows: The PGT start-up script is called: pgt.bat (double-click or start from the command line)
Other operating systems: The PGT start-up script is called: pgt. It can be run by changing to the installation directory and typing ./pgt
Q: I get 'Invalid entry point' errors or other error messages while importing a proposal from a previous AO.
A: Proposals that were generated with a previous version of PGT (during AO-1, AO-2 or AO-3) shouldn't be opened with this new version of PGT. Please contact the ISOC helpdesk at inthelp@sciops.esa.int if you want to open one of your old proposals.
Q: How do I find out if (and which version of) Java is installed on my system?
A:

To find out the version of Java that is installed on your system, type the following at the command line:

java -version

If Java is not installed, it will give you an error that the command could not be found. If Java is installed, the output would be something like:

java version "1.4.2"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.2-b28)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.2-b28, mixed mode)
Q: How do I get to the command line in Windows?
A: Windows XP & 2000:
  • On the taskbar at the bottom of your screen, click Start, and then click Run.
  • Type cmd
Windows 98 & Me:
  • On the taskbar at the bottom of your screen, click Start, and then click Run.
  • Type command
Q: Windows won't open the PGT-install.jar file. What should I do?
A: Make sure that you installed Java correctly. (see also next question)
Q: Windows opens the PGT-install.jar file but nothing happens. What is wrong?
A: When you install Java, it will register itself to open JAR files when you double click on them. However, there are some other programs (most of them are compression utilities like e.g. PowerArchiver) which will do the same. So, your system could open the PGT-install.jar file with a program other then Java.
There are three ways to solve this:
  1. Don't open the PGT-install.jar file directly. Instead: go to the command line and type:
    java -jar PGT-install.jar (you must be in the same directory as the PGT-install.jar file)
  2. Re-install Java. In most cases this will restore the fact that JAR files should be opened with Java.
  3. Restore the file association manually. See here for more information.